The commercial honey bees which you might often see
in your garden are not native to Australia. They were
introduced from Europe around 1822 to feed the colonists.
Australia has over 1600 species of native bees – and some of them are stingless!
They pollinate macadamias, avocados, watermelons, lemons, mangoes and
wildflowers aswell asmany other plants. They’re generally smaller and darker than
their yellow-striped European counterparts, so you might mistake one for a small
fly. But they can also be black, yellow, red, metallic green or even black with blue
polka dots! They can be fat and furry, or sleek and shiny.
Unlike the European bees, most Australian bees are solitary bees. They like to raise
their young in burrows in the ground or in tiny hollows in timber. They do not have
queens or drones and workers but, like a bird, a single female will mate then build
a nest for her eggs. And they don’t store honey in the nests like those bees which
build hives.
But Australia also has social bees. These bees build hives and have queens and
females who can’t breed. So they become drones like the males. Social bees do
create honey and build hives in the hollows of trees. If you live in a warm climate
these stingless native bees make excellent backyard residents, and because they’re
harmless you don’t need to gear up in
beekeeping armour!
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